Paul McKenna

Paul McKenna is a British hypnotist best known by his books and CDs I Can Make You Rich and I Can Make You Thin, and by a number of TV programs he presented since the 1990s. He has helped millions of people learn how to lose weight, quit smoking, overcome insomnia, eliminate stress, and increase self-confidence. According to the Sunday Times, he is Britain’s best selling non-fiction author, published in 23 languages.

Life and Career

Paul McKenna was born 8 November 1963, in Enfield, London. He left school at 16 and became a radio DJ. According to the telegraph.co.uk, he got interested in hypnotherapy when a hypnotist appeared on his radio show in the 1980s; he became fascinated with the practice and trained to become one himself.

He first began performing in theaters, and then on television. He decided to quit the radio in the early 1990s, and moved to television. The ITV show The Hypnotic World Of Paul McKenna, which featured audience members volunteering to be hypnotised to act in comedic ways, had viewing rating of 13 million in 1994 and was sold to over 42 countries.

The TV programs that he presented in the 1990s include also Paul McKenna’s Paranormal World andHyp the Streets. In 2008 the Discovery Channel signed a £23 million deal with McKenna to make a series of self-help programs – the largest deal ever for a British TV personality, according to Wikipedia.

His clients include celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and David Walliams, a British actor who used McKenna to help with his swim across the English Channel.

One of his recent TV appearances was on 9 January 2013, when he hypnotized The One Show presenter Matt Baker to believe that he was Pablo Picasso; under hypnosis, Baker created several impressionist pieces of art, which were shown on air while the footage was played back during Paul McKenna’s appearance.

McKenna lives in West Hollywood, California, with his ex-girlfriend Clare Staples, who is also his manager.

Books

Paul McKenna produced books, CDs, DVDs and audio books. The list of his published titles includes: